After shining in his 'very special' debut, Toby Roland-Jones sees no reason why he can't succeed Down Under
The 29-year-old has insisted that he's more than just an English bowler for English conditions as he eyes this winter's Ashes series
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Your support makes all the difference.Toby Roland-Jones might not be thinking of the Ashes just yet, but the Middlesex seamer sees no reason why he can’t be a success in Australia this winter following his stunning Test debut at The Oval.
The 29-year-old’s eight wickets, including five in South Africa’s first innings, represented the best start to an England bowler’s Test career since 1962, when David Larter took nine for 145 against Pakistan at The Oval.
Among Roland-Jones’ scalps were six of South Africa’s top seven, including Hashim Amla twice. Amla you may remember scored an unbeaten 311 during his side’s previous visit to The Oval back in 2012.
This, then, was a debut to remember, especially as Roland-Jones started it all with an electrifying opening spell that saw him remove South Africa’s top four with his first 33 balls in Test cricket.
Although the cloud cover and gloom that shrouded the ground for much of the match provided a man described as a ‘classic English seamer’ with the perfect conditions to operate in, this was a performance to get excited about.
Indeed, Roland-Jones, who also found himself on a hat-trick on the final morning, was unlucky to lose out on the man of the match award to Ben Stokes.
But such is the Ashes-centric prism from which English cricket is viewed, the question people are now asking is not whether Roland-Jones, whose skills are based on accuracy and repetition rather than speed, can be a success when Joe Root leads his team to Australia this winter.
It’s the equivalent of wondering whether a gifted South American footballer can ‘do it on a cold Tuesday night in Crewe’: can the newest member of England’s attack produce on a scorching-hot day in Perth or Brisbane, where the pitches are quick and the only cloud people usually encounter is the one that backs up their iPhones?
Yet he bristles at being typecast as an English bowler for English conditions.
“Naturally that is where I have played my cricket so I am more adept in those conditions more than anywhere else purely on the basis of playing so much over here,” says Roland-Jones. “But certainly, I don’t see that as a limiting factor for me.
“I’ve enjoyed bowling whenever I have gone away - I was in Sri Lanka this year [with England Lions]. I enjoyed the challenges those conditions offered and we have played in Australia and South Africa. So, I see myself as someone who adapts to whatever conditions I play.”
Roland-Jones played two 50-over matches for the Lions on a 2012 tour of Australia that is best remembered for Ben Stokes and Matt Coles being sent home early for disciplinary reasons. Back then he took four wickets at 28.75 – a decent return.
Yet five years on, he is now a different player and when you hear Roland-Jones talk about his approach to bowling it brings to mind perhaps the greatest seamer of them all – Australia’s Glenn McGrath, who took 563 Test wickets during his storied career.
“There’s a lot of talk about bowling certain speeds and that is something I have never had in my game necessarily,” he says. “But if you stick to basics, hit a good area that can work.”
While the debate over whether Roland-Jones can be a success in Australia will only really be answered at the end of the winter, for now he is concentrating on helping England, who hold a 2-1 lead going into Friday’s final Test at Old Trafford, seal this series against South Africa.
“There's been a bit spoken about how this team has responded to winning games and trying to stop that up-and-down nature of results,” he said. “So, I think this game seems like as good a time as any to try to change that.”
The standout county performance from Roland-Jones in the past year was his hat-trick against Yorkshire at Lord’s that sealed Middlesex’s first Championship title in 26 years. However, his performance at The Oval meant even more.
“This surpassed it,” admits Roland-Jones. “That did feel like it would be a difficult feeling to surpass but last week was very special. I suppose it’s funny how these games can quickly come up on you and naturally your mind as a sportsman focuses on the task at hand. Up here in Manchester that’s trying to contribute in any way to a series victory, which would be fulfilling a dream growing up.”
After his stunning start to life as a Test cricketer, Roland-Jones can afford to dream.
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